Ducks visit Stars with shot at fifth straight win

(Sports Network) - Viktor Fasth has provided the Anaheim Ducks with an
unexpected lift in goal while starter Jonas Hiller works through some early-
season rust.

Thanks to strong play from the 30-year-old rookie last time out, the Ducks
take aim at a fifth straight victory on Friday night as they visit the
division-rival Dallas Stars.

Fasth signed a one-year deal with Anaheim back in May after earning his second
straight Honken Trophy as the top goaltender in the Swedish Elite League. He
notched a 2.12 goals against average and .934 save percentage in 46 games last
season with five shutouts.

He has won all four of his appearances so far for the Ducks, posting a 0.98
GAA and .962 save percentage by yielding just four goals on 105 shots. The
Swede notched his first NHL shutout on Wednesday, posting 31 saves in his
second straight start, a 3-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche that made him the
first goaltender to win his first four starts since San Jose's Nolan Schaefer
captured his first five from Oct. 26-Nov. 4, 2005.

"This is what you really want your defense to do in a game. Those guys played
great in front of me tonight," said Fasth. "Of course the shutout is special,
but the most important thing is that we got the road win. I just want to do my
best when I get the chance to play."

Fasth has certainly done that while Hiller has gone 3-1-1 but has compiled a
3.54 GAA and .871 save percentage.

It is unknown who will start on Friday.

Fasth isn't the only new addition having an impact. Defenseman Sheldon Souray
scored a goal in his third straight game on Wednesday while adding an assist.
Signed to a three-year deal this past offseason, he has four goals and seven
points in nine games so far.

After spending 2010-11 in the minors as the Edmonton Oilers looked to bury his
hefty contract, Souray signed a one-year deal with the Stars prior to last
season and tallied six goals and 21 points in 64 games.

He'll look to deal his former team a loss on Friday and extend Anaheim's six-
game point streak (5-0-1). The Ducks are 7-1-1 overall on the season, their
second-best start to a campaign behind only the 7-0-2 beginning in 2006-07,
and took the opener of a season-long six-game swing to move to 3-0-1 on the
road.

Ducks forward Teemu Selanne reached a milestone on Wednesday, recording the
750th assist of his career on Saku Koivu's goal.

It's no secret that the Ducks have plenty of momentum coming into this game,
but the Stars have won three of their last four. That includes a 3-2 overtime
victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday as Jaromir Jagr scored 1:46 into
the bonus frame.

Jagr picked up the puck following a shot from teammate Jamie Benn that was
stopped. The 40-year-old winger then carried into the right circle and put a
wrister into the back of the net for his third goal of the season and first
since scoring twice in his Dallas debut on Jan. 19.

"I don't really remember what happened," Jagr joked of his game-winner. "It
was very quick. It was too quick for my speed. I had a little space one-and-
one and I tried to beat the guy one-on-one and I shot it right away."

The goal was the 668th of Jagr's career and moved him into a tie with Luc
Robitaille for 10th place in NHL history.

Jagr and Benn each finished with a goal and an assist, while Derek Roy also
scored for the Stars. Kari Lehtonen made 27 stops in the win.

Dallas has won six of its past seven versus the Ducks overall while going
7-1-1 in the past nine meetings at home.